Abstract: Method for detecting wheels of a vehicle that is traveling on a roadway in a travel direction and the wheels of which are at least partially exposed laterally. The method including: emitting an electromagnetic measurement beam lobe with a known temporal progression of frequency from the side of the roadway onto an area of the roadway and at a slant with respect to the travel direction, receiving the measurement beam lobe reflected by a passing vehicle and recording the temporal progression, relative to the known progression, of all of its frequencies, and during the passage of a vehicle, detecting a frequency spread appearing in the recorded progression and exceeding a predetermined spread magnitude, as a wheel.

Abstract: Methods are disclosed for charging an onboard unit with an electronic ticket and redeeming the ticket at a radio beacon. The onboard unit has a DSRC interface for radio communication with the radio beacon and a second interface for radio communication with a mobile phone. The second interface is separate from the DSRC interface. The onboard unit is provided with a public and a private electronic key of the onboard unit. In the mobile telephone, an encrypted ticket is received and the encrypted ticket is sent to the onboard unit. In the onboard unit, the encrypted ticket is received, the received ticket is decrypted, and the ticket is transmitted to the radio beacon for redemption.

Abstract: The present subject matter relates to an onboard unit for a traffic telematics system, comprising: a first communication module, designed for near-range radio communication with a first external communication device, a second communication module, designed for far-range radio communication with a second external communication device, and a non-volatile memory, which can be accessed both by the first and the second communication module, wherein each communication module has a power-supplied communication mode and a powerless or power-saving rest mode, and wherein the power supply of the memory during an access thereto is effected by the accessing communication module. The present subject matter further relates to an onboard system for a vehicle comprising such an onboard unit, and to a communication device for said system.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for reading license plate numbers in a road network, comprising: recording an image of a license plate number at a first location, OCR-reading a license plate character string in the image, and storing an OCR data set in a database; recording an image of a license plate number at a second location, OCR-reading a license plate number character string in the image, and generating a current OCR data set; and, if a confidence measure of the current OCR data set falls below a first minimum confidence value, selecting a stored OCR data set with a license plate number image having a similarity exceeding a minimum similarity value and/or having the greatest similarity to the license plate number image of the current OCR data set, and using the selected OCR data set for improving the license plate number character string of the current OCR data set.

Abstract: A vehicle device for a road toll system including: a satellite navigation receiver for continuously generating location data for a processing and transmitting/receiving unit of the vehicle device; and a trusted-element processor configured to log a time segment of the generated location data and to cryptographically signing said time segment. The trusted-element processor is further configured to start said logging upon detection of a predefined time or a predefined location of the vehicle device and to carry out said logging for a predefined time segment.

Abstract: One or more embodiments relate to a semiconductor device, comprising: a substrate; and a plurality of first conductive vias, the first conductive vias electrically coupled together, each of the first conductive vias passing through the substrate; and a plurality of second conductive vias, the second conductive vias electrically coupled together, each of the second conductive vias passing through the substrate, the second conductive vias spacedly disposed from the first conductive vias.

Abstract: A method is described for detecting a rotating wheel of a vehicle that is travelling on a roadway in a travel direction, the wheels of which are at least partially exposed laterally, the method comprising: emitting an electromagnetic measurement beam having a known temporal progression of its frequency onto a first section above the roadway in a direction in a slant with respect to the vertical and normally or at a slant with respect to the travel direction; receiving a reflected measurement beam and recording the temporal progression of its frequencies, relative to the known progression, as a reception frequency mixture progression; and detecting a frequency band, which is continuously inclining or declining over a period of time, in the reception frequency mixture progression as a wheel. A device for conducting the method is also described.

Abstract: Control devices and methods for a road toll system that is based on on-board units carried by vehicles, comprising: in a marking vehicle detecting a traffic or toll violation of an on-board unit, and, if a violation exists, transmitting a marker to the on-board unit via a DSRC radio interface; in an on-board unit periodically determining, upon receipt of a marker, the position of the unit and broadcasting a position message containing the respective current position; and in the control unit: detecting the vehicle based on at least one of the position messages that are broadcast by the on-board unit.

Abstract: A control method for a road toll system using vehicle-based on-board units, recording vehicles, control vehicles, cellular mobile communication networks, and switching servers, comprising: registering a recording vehicle identifier and a mobile communication network cell identifier in the switching server; selecting a cell identifier in a control vehicle and transmitting the same with a control vehicle identifier to the switching server; associating the control vehicle identifier with the recording vehicle identifier for which a cell identifier that is identical to the selected cell identifier is registered; detecting a traffic or toll violation by means of the recording vehicle and transmitting a violation data record to the switching server, determining the assigned control vehicle identifier; transmitting the violation data record to the control vehicle identified by the determined identifier; and processing the violation data record in the control vehicle.

Abstract: Structures of a system on a chip are disclosed. In one embodiment, the system on a chip (SoC) includes an RF component disposed on a first part of a substrate, a semiconductor component disposed on a second part of the substrate, the semiconductor component and the RF component sharing a common boundary, and a conductive cage disposed enclosing the RF component. The conductive cage shields the semiconductor component from electromagnetic radiation originating from the RF circuit.

Abstract: A method and a radio beacon for determining a distance of a vehicle passing a radio beacon of a road toll system, from beacon. The vehicle is equipped with an onboard unit, which emits a signal with a known curve of its frequency over time. The method includes receiving the signal in the radio beacon during passage of the vehicle and recording a curve of its frequency over time in relation to the known frequency curve; detecting a change in the recorded frequency curve exceeding a predetermined threshold value; looking for two far regions in the frequency curve lying before and after the detected change in time and showing a frequency change below a threshold value; scaling the recorded frequency curve in such a manner that the far regions assume predetermined values; and determining the said distance from a gradient of the scaled frequency curve in an inflection point thereof.

Abstract: A method for authenticating vehicle devices that can conduct dedicated short-range communications with beacons of a road tolling system. The beacons have a system-wide key and the vehicle devices only have individual keys. A supply of pairs of individual keys and associated derivation identifiers is stored in the vehicle device, and for consecutive communications the vehicle device selects a different pair from the supply in each case and uses said pair for the respective communication. The vehicle device is triggered by an interrogation device to perform at least the part of a radio communication in which the vehicle device sends the selected derivation identifier, and the selected derivation identifier is received in the interrogation device and is compared with derivation identifiers of the supply stored in the interrogation device. The vehicle device is then authenticated in the case of consistency of the comparison.

Abstract: A method for electronically processing a traffic violation of a vehicle that comprises an onboard unit having a transceiver, an input device and an output device, and an onboard unit for carrying out the method, are provided. The method includes: transmitting a traffic violation message from a beacon to the transceiver of the onboard unit and outputting the traffic violation message on the output device of the onboard unit; accepting a user selection concerning two options via the input device of the onboard unit; if the user selection indicates the first option, transmitting the traffic violation message from the onboard unit to a remote central facility; if the user selection indicates the second option, generating a debit transaction related to the traffic violation and charging the debit transaction against a user account.

Abstract: A method for generating a parking fee transaction for a vehicle that comprises an onboard unit having an identifier, and a radio beacon and an onboard unit for carrying out the method, are provided. The method includes: wirelessly polling the identifier by a roadside radio beacon as a current identifier, generating a parking fee transaction for the identifier if the current identifier is identical to a stored old identifier, storing the current identifier as the old identifier, waiting a predetermined time period, and repeating these steps.

Abstract: Structures of a system on a chip are disclosed. In one embodiment, the system on a chip (SoC) includes an RF component disposed on a first part of a substrate, a semiconductor component disposed on a second part of the substrate, the semiconductor component and the RF component sharing a common boundary, and a conductive cage disposed enclosing the RF component. The conductive cage shields the semiconductor component from electromagnetic radiation originating from the RF circuit.

Abstract: The invention relates to a device for monitoring a parking space (2) for a vehicle (3), comprising a camera unit (23) assigned to the parking space (2) and mounted thereon to record a picture of a frontal license plate (10) of the vehicle (3), a lighting unit (8, 8?, 8?) assigned to the parking space (2) and mounted thereon to project a light fan (9) lying in an approximately vertical plane along a boundary of the parking space (2) as a surface marking (7?), wherein the camera unit (23) lies approximately in the plane of the light fan (9) and has an opening angle (a) which covers both the surface marking (7, 7?) and the license plate (10).

Abstract: A rotating wheel of a vehicle is detected by evaluating the Doppler shift of a measuring beam, which is emitted by a detector unit passed by the vehicle, and is reflected by the wheel and returned in Doppler-shifted form. In a relative position to the wheel, the vehicle comprises an onboard unit, which can establish radio communication with a transceiver having a known location in the detector unit. The direction and distance of the onboard unit from the transceiver are measured on the basis of at least one radio communication between the same. The radiation direction or radiation position of the measuring beam is controlled in accordance with the measured direction and distance and taking into consideration the aforementioned relative position and location.

Abstract: A vehicle wheel is detected by emitting a measuring beam, recording frequencies of a reflected measuring beam over time as a received signal, and detecting a change in the received signal as a wheel. The vehicle comprises an onboard unit that stores information that indicates the vehicle length at least indirectly. The information is read from the onboard unit by a radio communication and the speed of the vehicle is measured. The duration of the passage of the vehicle passing a detector unit is computed based on this information and the speed. A time window in the received signal is determined that shows an approximately constant change of the received signal over the aforementioned duration. A spurious signal component is determined in a segment of the received signal that immediately precedes the time window. The received signal in the time window is compensated by the spurious signal component.

Abstract: A rotating wheel of a vehicle is detected by evaluating the Doppler shift of a measuring beam emitted by a detector unit passed by the vehicle, reflected by the wheel and returned in Doppler-shifted form. In a relative position to the wheel, the vehicle comprises an onboard unit, which can establish a radio communication with a transceiver having a known location in the detector unit. The direction and distance of the onboard unit from the transceiver are measured on the basis of at least one radio communication between the same. The radiation direction or radiation position of the measuring beam is controlled in accordance with the measured direction and distance and taking into consideration the aforementioned relative position and location. The relative position is stored in the onboard unit and is read from the onboard unit by way of a radio communication for the purpose of the aforementioned consideration.

Abstract: One or more embodiments relate to a semiconductor device, comprising: a substrate; and a plurality of first conductive vias, the first conductive vias electrically coupled together, each of the first conductive vias passing through the substrate; and a plurality of second conductive vias, the second conductive vias electrically coupled together, each of the second conductive vias passing through the substrate, the second conductive vias spacedly disposed from the first conductive vias.